CAST 2013

AST Quality Leader Special Interest Group is dedicated to build a community of context driven test leaders, and provide resources and support for advancing test management, quality advocacy and leadership skills and practices.

Quality Leader SIG identifies test management as a distinct skill that needs mastering. Test managers envision and drive testing strategy on different levels through deep understanding of the context, advance their soft skills for successful collaboration with the other disciplines and stakeholders, build an extensive toolkit of test tools and methodologies, and create an environment for their people to succeed and grow.

Also, Quality Leader SIG recognizes that recently changed industry landscape (such as organizational Agile transformation) introduced new challenges for testers — as well as new opportunities. Oftentimes, the single testers on Agile teams are anticipated to take on responsibilities of test managers or leads (through creating test strategy, distributing or supervising test-related activities, influencing their team members to become quality advocates, etc.), yet having to work with their peers, not direct or indirect reports.

Quality Leader SIG recognizes and supports variety of different paths for career development of software test professionals. Our activities  comprise of facilitating workshops for test leaders and providing the platform for sharing and exchanging techniques and stories. In the long term, we plan to create the Body of Knowledge for context driven test professionals who are accepting the leaders’ role in their organizations.